100 Snowflakes
by moonhaku
Summary: Among the thousands of snowflakes dancing in the cold air, will you have the patience to pick out the best 100? Among the thousands of memories, which ones are worth remembering? Done for the dA 100 Themes Challenge. SasuHina
1. 1 Introduction

_**100 Snowflakes**_

**Summary: **Among the thousands of snowflakes dancing in the cold air, will you have the patience to pick out the best 100? Among the thousands of memories, which ones are worth remembering? Done for the dA 100 Themes Challenge. SasuHina

* * *

**1. Introduction**

Hinata stared at the red-eyed teacher apprehensively. Bits of spinach were stuck to her otherwise flawless teeth and a weary look clouded over her once-glamorous face. Hinata looked down on the floor and chewed on her fingernails absentmindedly.

"Class, I'd like to introduce a new classmate, Hinata Hyuuga. Say 'Hello' to her, please."

A whole class of five and six year olds looked up. Hinata kept on staring at her feet.

There was a quiet murmuring of 'hello' and 'hi'. Then they all went back to sucking their thumbs or toppling primitive buildings made of wood blocks. The teacher left the new girl's side, and suddenly she was lost in the turmoil of confusion.

She sat down on a chair and traced the writings on the desk with her fingernail. Something hard hit the back of her head.

She caught a ball of lumpy brown clay in her hands and looked around for the culprit.

No one stepped out or even paid attention to her. She turned back to the desk and rolled the clay on it. It cracked and fell into little hard pebbles, spraying across her lap. After brushing it off, she picked up a piece of crumpled paper, smoothed it on the table and drew a flower on it with a purple crayon.

"That's pretty."

A boy with dark hair and black eyes looked down at her from across the table. His voice was thin and childish. He had a welcoming smile on his face. Hinata felt herself blushing.

"Th-thanks."

"Here." He fumbled around in his pocket and produced a slightly bent plastic rose, as he said boldly, "My mom says that pretty flowers are for pretty girls. I think you're pretty."

She stared at him before hesitantly taking the flower. "Um," she bit her lip as he sat down across from her, "Wh-who are you?"

"Sasuke." He grinned again. "Sasuke Uchiha."

* * *


	2. 2 Love

_**100 Snowflakes**_

* * *

**2. Love**

"What do s'pose love is, nee-chan?"

She looked down at her fingers with her silvery eyes.

"I-I think that it's probably something really nice, Hana."

"Hn."

Hanabi turned toward the boy sitting next to her sister, "Y'know, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes and then looked straight ahead again. Hinata stared at him for a while with a wisp of a smile and put a hand on her younger sister's shoulders.

"It's alright, Hana," she whispered softly into the nine-year-old's ears, "I-I think he's j-just shy."

"Suuure." She rolled her eyes, and quipped again, "The day he's _shy_ is the day that Naruto Uzumaki starts hating ramen."

Hinata had to agree with her. Maybe he wasn't shy. Just…um…embarrassed? She looked at his raven hair rustling in the wind. There was no hint of underlying emotion on his face, but then, he was always stony-faced like that.

"Don't you have class?" Sasuke glared at Hanabi. "You'll be late if you don't hurry."

"Oh yeah!" Hanabi looked at the clock hanging near the wooden post, "Shikamaru-sensei is going to scold me for being late!"

She jumped to her feet and was about to run off before turning around slowly and saying, "Hey, Uchiha."

"Hn."

"Don't molest my sister while I'm gone, seriously."

"H-hanabi!" Hinata stuttered out, embarrassed.

"Hn."

Hanabi scowled and stuck out her tongue in a childish manner at Sasuke. Then she ran off, her light footsteps completely fading within a minute. Hinata stared off in the direction of her fleet-footed sister. Shikamaru is never going to scold her…she thought in a daze, he always fell asleep in class anyway.

"Thinking, Hinata?"

"Hai." She stared at her dangling feet.

"What _is_ your definition of love?"

She looked up, startled at the sudden question. He was staring at her sharply, almost forcing her eyes to shift downward in an attempt to escape. Just almost.

"U-um," she bit her inner lip, "it's nice…and—"

"Just nice?" He looked almost playful now. He edged closer, cupping a hand around her cheek. "So what is this?"

Hinata felt her cheek burning from his cool touch. Her breath hitched in her throat when she felt his other arm circling around her waist.

"Or this?" He brushed his lips lightly past hers. She made a move to speak, but he put a light finger on her lips. Her silver eyes were uncertain, perhaps wary of his moves. A delicate blush covered her cheeks when she felt him shifting her onto his lap.

"Um, Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"H-hanabi told us—"

"Screw her."

"B-but—"

"I'll take care of it."

"What if—"

"Nobody will."

"Father—"

"Too bad."

He smirked and lowered his head to capture her lips before she could protest. She stiffened a bit, but then she started to respond to his movements. It wasn't long before he was practically on top of her, kissing her roughly and trying to take her top off. She was holding him back, a bit unsuccessfully since her jacket had already been flung across the floor and the fishnet underneath it was getting pushed up.

There were lots of gasps, groans and panting before things got too X-rated for the spying kids on the roof and finally interesting for the perverted old men in the bushes three feet away.

Namely Hanabi, Konohamaru, Kakashi, Jiraiya and Shikamaru, who undoubtedly, was a bit of a hentai.

* * *


	3. 3 Light

_**100 Snowflakes**_

* * *

**3. Light**

_Light of My Life…_Hinata bit her lip as she hung up the huge silk banner over the school entrance. 'Light of My Life' was the theme for this year's senior prom, and as its title suggested, the Headmistress Tsunade-sama had declared that it was a couples-only event this year. Hinata sighed as she carefully hopped down the last few steps of the stairs; Tsunade-sama had also made it girl's choice. Sometimes, she could swear that everyone was plotting against her, Hinata thought bitterly. A simple solution would've been not to go.

But even that freedom had been stolen from her.

The day the dance was announced, with all of its special guidelines and rules, Hinata had received a free invitation to the prom with a note. It'd said that Tsunade-sama hoped that she would come to the dance with a special someone. Knowing the headmistress, that wasn't so much as an invitation as it was a command. Hinata painted the walls listlessly, softly rolling the pink paint onto the beige-colored walls.

It wasn't that Hinata had no boyfriend, of course.

But then again, that was the whole problem. You see, Hinata's current involvement with someone was…_special_…in a sort of forbidden and against-the-rules way.

"Ne, Hyuuga-san, you're painting on the windows…shouldn't you stop now?" A bemused voice interrupted her thought process. Hinata whirled around. There he was. The source of all her problems, Sasuke Uchiha-sensei.

"S-so? It'll look better this way," her cheeks flushed crimson as she quickly made up a fib. The arrogant smirk was still on his face.

"I think that people would still like to see the outside world once in a while, Hyuuga-san," he continued in a flippant manner, "and those are very expensive windows, it wouldn't do to ruin them with water-proof paint."

"Huh? Water-proof?" Hinata looked down at the can of paint at her feet. There it was in tiny letters under the huge label; 'heavy duty and water proof for your convenience!'. More like _in_convenience, she thought dejectedly, I'm seriously going to have to replace these windows.

"It's alright…we'll just have to wait and see if anyone notices. In the meantime," he looked almost playful, "Just finish painting the rest of the window. You look stupid just standing here and talking to me."

"H-hai, sensei." She lowered her head and started painting the windows quickly.

He was about to protest, but then remembered what place they were in. Normally, he objected to her custom of calling him 'sensei', but this _was_ school. He shoved his hands in his pocket and walked away reluctantly. Spending too much time with one student couldn't lower the faculty's suspicion of him in any way. Especially with Hinata Hyuuga.

Hinata watched as he tapped another pink-haired senior on the shoulder and winced as she started to giggle infinitesimally. He _hated_ it when girls giggled hysterically as if they were having a seizure. Which was exactly what bubblegum-haired Haruno-san was doing now. Hinata shook her head. It wasn't right to have those negative thoughts, especially not against her own classmate! She turned her attention back to painting the windows. Hopefully nobody will notice them.

Hinata put her hands on her hips and surveyed the huge gym. There were streamers hanging off the ceiling, balloons floating every 2.65 feet away from each other, stars and angels (painted by Sai-san) pinned up crookedly along the walls and balls of confetti hidden in between the streamers. There was even an impressive shiny, silver-colored disco ball among the layered decorations up there. After eight hours of nonstop work, the gym was _finally_ finished for the prom the nest day. It was a record.

There were groans and tired whooping coming from every corner in the gym. A group of about twenty or so students was slowly gathering around a teacher still standing in the middle of the room. He was holding a clipboard while students pointed to the sheet of paper attached to it and he scribbled furiously with his pen. Hinata plopped into a chair and stared at him from afar. Uchiha-sensei looked so business-like when he was with the others. It made her wonder why he became a teacher in the first place.

He was only twenty-three, skipping two grades in high school and finishing college early after walking away with two successive degrees. _**I**_ _wouldn't come back here and teach_, Hinata surmised as she stared at the girls gathering around her teacher, giggling furiously. Who wants to go through senior high school year after year? Maybe it's better for the teachers, she shrugged unconsciously.

"Sasuke-sensei! Are you going to be chaperoning for the prom?" The blonde that was blowing up balloons clung onto Sasuke's arm and stared at him with sparkling blue eyes.

"Gomen," he put on an artificial smile, "I have a date that night."

"Oh…" she looked down, almost giving the impression that she was letting go, "Then who's Sasuke-sensei's girlfriend? I wanna know who captured Sasuke-sensei's heart!" Undoubtedly, she was planning that mystery girl's downfall.

"Hai! I wanna know too!" The pink-haired beauty from before pushed through the throng of girls and clung onto the other side of the annoyed teacher. "_Please_ tell us, Sasuke-sensei!"

"My personal business is none of your concern," he paused to shake them off, "Though I _am_ flattered by your attention." He made a show of flipping his raven bangs and walking away. He might as well bent on one knee and proposed to them from the way that those two reacted. They were squealing and hugging each other although they were both rivals for his love. _Strange_, Hinata bit the lollipop she'd stuck into her mouth and sucked on it.

_Vanilla, _she thought with half-lidded eyes, _weird kind of flavor for a lollipop. Oh well. _

"Getting tired, Hyuuga-san?"

She blinked rapidly and stared in shock at the face two inches away from her own.

"S-sasuke—I mean," her mouth fumbled over the words, "U-uchiha-sensei?"

"Don't worry, they all left already," he shifted to let her see the clock. She gasped, it was already 11:30! When did she fall asleep? Her sleepy mind tried to remember how and when she conked out.

"W-why didn't you wake me up earlier?" She demanded softly, lurching up to her feet and searching for her white bag. He pushed her down gently onto the chair.

"You look too cute when you're sleeping," he was smirking again. Hinata felt her face flush immediately. "Sort of like an angel."

"Huh?" She looked up, not knowing what to say.

"Care for a dance?"

"Wha—," she tried to speak, but was interrupted by his soft lips on hers. He took her hand and led her out to the middle of the gym.

"Um…", to tell the truth, she felt a bit silly like this. Dancing in the school gym in the middle of night, she thought dryly, my, my, Hinata Hyuuga, how low you have sunk. "I don't think we should—"

"Just once. Besides, you still have a date with me tomorrow, or are you going with someone else?"

"Of course not!" The retort was too quick. She blushed. He smiled. He wrapped a hand around her waist and started to dance with the music suddenly coming on over the speakers. She laid her head on his shoulders and breathed in deeply. The smell of tomatoes and expensive cologne washed over her. Comforting, she decided, in an odd sort of way.

"So, you love me?"

She stopped cold. He stiffened a bit. Her mind was whirring furiously as she tried to come up with an answer. Her life, she realized, had been like a starless night until he had come blazing across the dark sky, forever illuminating her mind. Did she love him?

"Yeah," she whispered, almost to herself, "I guess so."

"That's all I need to hear," he relaxed and held onto her more tightly. "Light of my life…"

Faraway, in the corner of the darkened gym, one particular headmistress laughed silently to herself. She was holding a video camera. _You'll have to come up with something fast, Hinata, _she cackled silently, _because you're coming to the prom, or else…_

* * *


	4. 4 Dark

_**100 Snowflakes**_

* * *

4. Dark

Darkness was his cover, his friend and very possibly his enemy.

Things didn't always go so well for your common neighborhood vampire. Much to his distaste, he discovered after immediately becoming a vampire, the sun hurt him and crosses scarred his sight. It was a meaningless and painful experience.

He closed the blinds on the rays of sunlight streaming in and stared at the freakishly neat room.

The bed was untouched; the sheet's corners were bent in perfect right angles and the pillows arranged carefully on it were stiff with perfection and possibly, starch. His room looked like something out of a picture, a moment frozen in time, just waiting for something to shift and break the fragile balance.

There was a lamp by the bed, and another light in the corner of the room, but he never used those. Why use them if he could already see perfectly in the dimly lit room? Running his tongue curiously along the edges of his fangs, he sat on the wooden table with an extremely bored expression.

Nothing to do during the daytime…except sleep. He almost snorted at that impossible proposition. Sleep? It was something that Sasuke hadn't done for over three decades.

Knock.

His mouth twitched. Someone was knocking on the door. Someone he didn't hear until they'd walked up.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Three sharp raps quickly followed. Not wanting his visitor to make a hole in his door, he jumped off and walked to the door. Grasping the doorknob, he opened it and stared at the person standing. Hyuuga Hinata. A girl who lived two doors down, liked to cook, worked at the Red Cross building fifteen minutes away and _seemed_ to have a freakish crush on a blond man who lived across from her. Also the one person he's ever met with skin as pale and eyes as empty as he had. He scowled down at her.

"What do you want?"

"Blood."

It took a moment for it to register in his mind. His jaw tightened and his dark eyes flashed with scrutiny as he looked at her silvery eyes. _'How could she…?' _Silently, he reprimanded himself for reacting to her words; maybe it was all joke or a misunderstanding of some sort. Anyway, he had to control himself. He decided on a slightly amused expression and said, "E-excuse me…what?"

"Blood for the Red Cross blood drive tomorrow at 1 PM to 5 PM, are you coming?"

He mentally slapped himself; of course it had just been him overreacting, how could she possibly ever know his secret?

"No," he reached to close the door; the bright hallway lights were getting annoying, "I'm afraid I'm busy."

"It's a pity…" something dark and malevolent seemed to show in her eyes for a second, "since you know so much about it…"

"Wha—" His hand stopped short. The blood that no longer flowed in his veins stopped cold. "Why—"

"Uchiha-san," she added quietly, "this isn't really a good place to discuss this…um, can I go in?" The shy girlish personality he was used to came out again. Without a word, he grabbed her and pushed her into the room roughly. He slammed to door just as some people walked into the hallway, talking and shouting noisily. After the people had passed, he raised his head and looked at the girl. She was walking around, slightly tilting her porcelain chin; as if observing something.

"Who are you?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," she looked startled, but Sasuke was determined not to be fooled, "D-don't you know me?"

"Drop the act," he hardened his face and glared at her. "Who the hell are you?"

"It's very dark in here," Hinata turned on the desk-lamp, "Why don't you open the windows?" When he didn't answer, she laughed silently, almost to herself and turned to look at Sasuke. "You don't need to answer, I already know. Sunlight…it hurts doesn't it?"

"I don't understand a word you're saying," he tensed up his shoulders, creeping closer and closer to her. Just before he reached for her neck, she put a finger to her lips and whispered, "That wouldn't be very nice…vampire-san."

He lunged at her, pushing her onto the desk and making the lamp fall with a clatter onto the floor. The white eyes staring up at him looked frightened yet unafraid at the same time. His dark eyes were filled with thirst and desperation, and his mouth was open, his ears ignoring the whimpers of the girl underneath him as he punctured the soft skin—

"Aaaand, CUT!" The director yelled through the megaphone at the actors. "That was excellent, Uchiha, you too, Hyuuga! O-kay, 15 minute coffee break and then we're on again, people!" Then she left for the lounge.

"That _was_ pretty good, Sasuke," Hinata tried to move to get up, but found that she couldn't.

"Experience." He stared at her from above, his face only a few inches from her's. Her eyes were confused, "Wha—what do y-you mean?" She flinched as he leaned down and brushed his lips on her neck softly.

"Nothing," he covered his mouth for a second and left the dark room, "Just a joke."

Hinata let out a quavering breath before steadying herself and following her co-worker out of the studio. Maybe the fangs she felt on her neck were just her imagination.

* * *


	5. 5 Seeking Solace

_**100 Snowflakes**_

* * *

5. Seeking Solace

_To a girl, love is the whole book of their lives. _

_To a guy, love is but a single chapter. _

_But sometimes, a book has a sequel, and a chapter expands to become a book._

He studied her apprehensively from the corner of his eyes. Her hair was long and tangled, covering her eyes with a heavy violet curtain. She was sitting on the hill next to him, with her legs withdrawn and arms holding them together. To others, she may have represented a daunting image—something unapproachable and foreign. But to Sasuke, it only looked like she was trying desperately to hold herself together, just like how Sasuke had spent many sleepless nights after his clan's destruction and his brother's useless death.

A child with bright green hair ran up to the woman holding a white flower and asked, "Hyuuga-sensei, what kind of flower is this?"

"…"

"Hyuuga-sensei?" The girl began to shake her shoulders and waved a hand in front of the blank white eyes that were looking at nothing. "Are you alright?"

"…"

"Ayu, c'mere" Sasuke beckoned with his hand sternly, "Hyuuga-sensei is tired, try not to disturb her. As for the flower, it's just a wild daisy."

"Oh.." A blush covered Ayu's little chubby cheeks as she whispered, "Hai, Uchiha-sensei…"

"Run along now," he gave her a little push as she walked away, smitten. He sighed and put his head in his hands, thinking dryly that it was a bit sick that seven-year-olds were _still_ getting attracted to him; someone almost quadruple their age. He looked over at the silent woman sitting two feet away from him. Her half-lidded blank eyes were still staring ahead while her lips were parted slightly. Only the slight up and down motion of her body told him that she was still breathing.

"Why?" The word came as a whisper. Sasuke's ears pricked up as he drank in the soft musical sound under the dead tone of the words. He took a second, waiting for her to explain herself. She didn't. He decided to venture ahead anyway.

"Why what?" She looked away for a second, then shifted toward him, her blank stare burning into his forehead.

"Why did you answer her?"

"She was giving you trouble," he stated calmly, since it _was_ the obvious. Something flickered in her featureless eyes.

"But you hardly know me."

"Hai, but we _are_ on a mission together." Yeah, he thought wryly, a mission to take care of a bunch of seven-year-old ninnies.

"Hmmm." Then she fell silent for a time. Sasuke checked her face for any change of expression. They flashed quickly through fear, anxiety, surprise, pain and finally settled on amusement. "Sasuke Uchiha…talking about working together…" A light chuckled escaped her lips. It was dry and parched like her voice.

"Is there a problem?" He responded icily, since he _was_ slightly pissed at her amusement.

"No." Her voice was flat again. He thought that a tear dripped slowly down her face. She sniffed a bit and then turned away again. He couldn't bear it. Slowly, he walked over and tapped her shoulder, "You alright?"

"…"

"It's about Naruto and Sakura, isn't it?"

Ever since coming back to Konoha, Sasuke had seen how close those two had grown. Everybodyin town knew that they would get together _someday_. Just like how everybody in town knew that Hinata had been in love with the harebrained idiot for her whole life. Save for one imbecile; Naruto the harebrained baka. When Sasuke saw the tears streaking Hinata's face, he felt an all too familiar stirring in him.

A stirring to beat the _shit_ out of that yellow-haired idiot.

_How_ idiotic could Naruto have been; to not notice the quiet encouraging of Hinata Hyuuga from the sidelines for twenty-six long years? Even Sasuke had noticed her, though diminutive she might be. He noticed that she was always whispering encouragement, always offering her healing ointment to Naruto, always blushing when Naruto was anywhere in a six-feet proximity of her and always, always loving him from her heart. _How_ indeed.

"Hai." There was a slight pause and some shuffling. Then came a strained, but quiet voice, "But I suppose that it was for the best."

"Supposedly." He replied sarcastically. Sasuke couldn't fathom what she was feeling. It must be a feeling very similar to finding out that Itachi died so his little brother might be regarded as a hero, he surmised, the feeling of utter emptiness and hopelessness. Bitter feelings of resentment rose in him as he thought of the village that had forced Itachi to choose between his own clan and the village itself. Yet here Sasuke was, convinced to come back and _possibly_ stay because of that same blond idiot.

The same one that was causing pain to this woman so close, yet infinitely far from Sasuke.

It's odd how things come full circle, huh?

He was dimly aware of his hand wrapping around her shoulder unconsciously and how she snuggled into it in the same unconscious manner. He just sat there, simply understanding as she cried softly, letting the pain drain out on its own. She needed a comforting shoulder and he provided it. He needed something to hold him in Konoha for the rest of his life and she was it. As he watched the setting sun and as the sobs died down, he smiled.

Maybe he would stay in Konoha after all.

* * *


	6. 6 Break Away

_**100 Snowflakes**_

* * *

6. Break Away

_Tug. _

_Tug._

_Tug. _

_Snap._

"Ow!" Hinata put a hand on the back of her neck, "What was that for?!"

"Hm," Sasuke stared at the break-away lanyard in his hands. Only three tugs and it was off. Useless. "Why did you get crap like this?"

"Hmph." Hinata snatched the lanyard out of his hands and scowled, "It's safer."

"For what? I'm not going to strangle myself."

"There's always a chance," Hinata carefully reattached the two ends, and slipped it around her neck, "Besides, it's fun!"

"Fun?" _What the fuck?! _Sasuke wondered if he was missing something. Break-away lanyard were not 'fun' by any standards.

O-kay.

Maybe they were by Hinata's standards.

Unlike Sasuke's standards of fun, which included killing enemy ninjas, beating the Rokudaime every single time in a spar, scaring the shit out of little kids and rebuilding the Uchiha clan through his new wife.

Who happened to think that break-away lanyards were fun, of course.

"Yeah!" Hinata tugged her securely, "I could take it apart any time I want just for fun."

"Hm," Sasuke pretended to think for a bit. He scratched at the roof tiles he was sitting on absentmindedly. Next time Hinata brought little trinkets home, he would be sure to incinerate them before they got on his nerves.

_Tug. _

_Snap._

_Tug._

_Snap._

_Tug._

_Snap—_

"Will you stop that already?!" Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer. He glared at his wife as she was playing with the braided break-away lanyard gleefully. "You're _twenty year old _already, you shouldn't be amused by this!"

"Hmm," she did a strange imitation of him, tapping her chin thoughtfully and then smiled shyly, "You want to go get some chocolate?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, pregnant women were _so_ weird.

* * *

**A/N: ** I just _had_ to write this. I took one look at the theme 'break away' and that lanyard just caught my eye. I hate those kinds of things. Thanks for all the awesome reveiws!

-moonhaku

* * *


	7. 7 Heaven

_**100 Snowflakes**_

**Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

7. Heaven

When thinking of the word 'heaven', images of naked cherubs with wings and puffy clouds appear. A hopelessly disgusting feeling of love starts to take over and suddenly you find yourself singing hymns with the heavenly choir. Then you look down and you're wearing a white robe complete with a set of wings. There's so much love and affection floating in the air that there might as well be hearts flying around.

Sasuke Uchiha did not like Heaven

And for good reason, he thought as he crushed a cigarette under his feet. The bleak streets of Paradise, Pennsylvania; USA did not scream 'heaven' at all. In fact, it was the sorriest place he'd ever set eyes on. It was also a coincidence that he was standing on Heaven Ave., where he had to meet an old acquaintance. Hmm, Heaven Ave. in the town of Paradise. Made sense.

Sort of.

This acquaintance he was meeting was someone that he's known for most of his life. But ever since his debut as an actor struck gold in Japan, he had less and less time to contact her. It was even worse that she was a world-famous fashion designer living in New York. They met in university, and one could say that they clicked immediately.

That was just an assumption.

He had been an arrogant, stuck up brat and she was a shy girl with no self-confidence. A perfect fit in the puzzle of life.

"I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting long?" He jerked his head and saw her running down the waterlogged streets. Her short layered indigo hair was stuffed under a thick hat and her pale cheeks were flushed.

"No, not at all." He grabbed her hand and unconsciously smelled her scent. Sweet and fruity, with something akin to hot chocolate floating around. She smiled shyly.

"I haven't seen you in so long, Sasuke…I—I missed you—" She was interrupted by a searing, open-mouthed kiss from the man beside her. He grasped her thin waist, pulling her near to him.

"Yeah, I know." He pulled away and smiled wryly, "I missed you too, Hinata."

She smiled and shrieked when a car came, splattering mud over the both of them. A tinkling laugh came out of her when she started to wipe off the dirt on her designer jacket and his expensive suit. He chuckled silently.

This was his heaven. Mud, dirt, laughter and lots of open-mouthed kisses.

* * *


	8. 8 Innocence

_**100 Snowflakes**_

**Disclaimer: Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

**

8. Innocence

The soft sunlight streamed through the blinds in the hospital room where Hinata stood. She was holding a thick bundle of blankets and rocking back and forth on the heels of her feet. A soft melody came from her lips as she looked adoringly into the eyes of the baby in her arms.

The baby gurgled and grabbed her slender finger, waving it around like a trophy. A quiet laugh escaped her lips as the baby yawned. His eyes closed, the long, curling lashes sparkling in the sunlight.

She continued rocking, this time slower and reduced her singing to a soft humming. The baby burped a few times and sighed contentedly in Hinata's arms. His round cheeks were white with a tint of raspberry on the sides and his hair was blonde, accenting perfectly with his glassy turquoise eyes.

"How's my little man doing?" A tall, warm man leaned over her shoulders, examining the content face of the newborn. Hinata smiled, "He just fell asleep, would you like to hold him?"

"It was amazing, he calmed down right after I gave him to Hinata…" Sakura smiled tiredly from the hospital bed. "He would still be crying if it wasn't for her."

"He was just a little colicky, that's all," Hinata blushed ruefully as she handed the baby over to Naruto, who held the little innocent creature carefully, as if afraid he would break him.

"Thank you Hinata…" Sakura sighed and gestured for the baby, "I can't imagine what I would've done if you didn't help us with Yukio for all those years and even now! Mothering just comes so naturally to you…"

"Yukio is really no trouble at all, he sleeps so nicely at night," Hinata gave an encouraging smile to Sakura, "He's like an angel, really."

"That's only because he's with you, Hinata-chan. Naruto could go and pick him up later today, though. I'm getting discharged this afternoon."

"That would be perfect." A voice from behind them cut in, "The little devil has kept Hinata up all night."

"Sasuke!..." Hinata turned around and admonished him gently. "It's really alright…"

"They already know you're lying Hinata, stop pretending that the demon is an angel. He's just another fussy baby." Sasuke retorted defiantly, "It's their responsibility to take care of him, not yours."

"But…"

"It's alright, Hinata," Sakura laughed and Naruto continued, "We know Sasuke just wants you back in bed with him, anyhow."

"Naruto!" Hinata whispered sharply, her face glowing crimson.

"C'mon Hinata, you guys have been married for what, five years now? If you like babies so much, then you should get some of your own!" Naruto laughed quietly, his eyes gleaming.

"But what if…"

"My dream _was_ always to rebuild my clan," Sasuke breathed on her neck and Hinata shivered, "We should get started if we're to get anywhere…"

"Hey! I didn't mean that you could start now! Sasuke! Hinata! Are you even listening?!" Naruto groaned and closed his eyes. From beside him, Sakura slapped him playfully and said, "Be a man and hold your dreadful screeching in. You really think Sasuke would undress with you watching? And besides, those porno flicks you watch are much more graphic than this."

* * *


	9. 9 Drive

_**100 Snowflakes

* * *

**_

**9. Drive**

"TURN!" Hinata blinked and flinched, jerking the steering wheel to the left, flinging the car past the curve and inducing a strong case of carsickness. With a clatter, her purple bag in the backseat fell down to the floor and she could hear the driving instructor cursing as he searched for his black glasses, which had fallen to the floor.

"_Damn,_" he straightened up and adjusted his glasses. There were scuff marks on the shiny rims, but otherwise, the glasses looked fine. Hinata blushed and lowered her head, mumbling an apology. She sucked at driving; it would be another thing to add to her growing list of activities she failed at; math, sports, cooking, singing…she couldn't do anything right. Even the weeds in her backyard had died.

"_Look _at the road, Hyuga!" She yelped and turned the steering wheel, barely missing the telephone pole. The tires on the old student car screeched as the instructor hit the emergency brake and they stopped in the middle of an abandoned lot. Her chest was heaving from the exertion and her otherwise pale face was flushed red.

"G-gomen nasai!" She closed her eyes and started to apologize profusely. If they weren't in a car and she didn't have a seat belt on, she would be on the ground, smacking her forehead on the pavement. It was abnormal how horrible her hand-eye coordination was. Normally, her clumsiness wasn't an issue, until now. Cars turn into instruments of destruction under her careful hands.

"It's alright," the instructor sighed and scribbled down something on his clipboard. "It was better than last time, at least. But by the end of this week, you'll have paid enough in repair fees to own this car, Hyuga."

"A-at least I'll have a car, right?" She smiled weakly. Although her father thought otherwise, Hinata knew that she wasn't ready for the shiny Prius in their garage, just waiting for her to receive her permit. And she wouldn't even have to buy another 'Caution: Student Driver' sign to stick onto it, this yellow, beaten-down car would already have it plastered everywhere. Not that it had prevented any of her recent traffic accidents and near-misses, but still, at least people knew to be cautious of her.

"I doubt that you'll want a car like this." He laughed wryly and not for the first time today, Hinata noticed how handsome her driving instructor was. Perhaps beautiful would be a better word to describe those long lashes and defined features. Sometimes, she could catch a glimpse of his obsidian eyes; they were usually hidden by his dark prescription sunglasses. "I think that's it for today, Hyuga. I'll drive us back."

"O-okay." Hinata turned around quickly and unbuckled herself from her seat. She opened the door quickly and half-ran out, straight into a dark, linen shirt.

"Ow." Looking up, she winced. Her driving instructor was staring down at her; she was so close that she could feel his cool breath blowing in her ear. He smelled sweet, she inhaled, enjoying the fragrance and dimly wondering what sort of fragrance he used. Maybe her boyfriend should try it one day. "After you're done staring, Hyuga, you could take your shoe off my foot. It's quite painful."

"Oh!" She jumped back and tripped over a sharp crack in the pavement. "Wha!"

He reached out and caught her around the waist with his hand, steadying her. "Careful."

"Yeah…arigatou, Uchiha-sensei." She breathed, still not quite used to the name. He still smelled sweet, then she realized that her face was buried in his shoulder. Struggling out of his awkward embrace, she blushed and squeaked. Her face burned and her mind was on overdrive; hugged by her driving instructor; what would Naruto think?

"Well," he cleared his throat after a moment. "We should be going."

"Y-yeah…" she mumbled and hurried back into the car, making a mental note to stay as far away as possible from him. Maybe there was a reason there were always a flock of girls at the driving center, calling out his name.

As he watched her, flustered and confused, a sly smile crept up onto his face. Ah, corrupting young schoolgirls was always fun.

* * *

**Author's Note: Watch this die and never get finished. **

…

**Oh wait, it basically already did. Sorry! I'm slowly coming back to life, but I'm unbelievably rusty and out of practice. Thanks for your continuing support and please review!**

**moonhaku **


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